Apparatus and method for generating pattern data, and apparatus and method for reproducing pattern data

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are an apparatus and method for generating pattern data, and an apparatus and method for reproducing pattern data. The apparatus for generating pattern data comprises: an input data reception unit for receiving input data according to a user selection; a controller for determining pattern information on the basis of the input data and generating pattern data including the determined pattern information; and a communication unit for transmitting the generated pattern data to the apparatus for reproducing pattern data.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The following embodiments relate to a pattern data generation technologyand a pattern data generation technology.

BACKGROUND ART

As the cultural industry develops, types of content which entertainsconsumers, such as a concert and a video game, are diversified. Consumerdemand for a method of providing visually immersive content, such asvirtual reality (VR), three-dimensional (3D) video, and four-dimensional(4D) experience, is increasing. In accordance with such a trend,interest in haptic devices that provide haptic feedback to users isgradually increasing. The haptic device may control a haptic stimulusprovided by the haptic device by adjusting an amount of current flowingthrough the haptic device and a magnitude of voltage applied to thehaptic device.

Technical Solution

An apparatus for generating pattern data according to an embodiment mayinclude: an input data reception unit configured to receive input dataaccording to a user selection; a controller configured to determinepattern information based on the input data and generate pattern dataincluding the determined pattern information; and a communication unitconfigured to transmit the generated pattern data to an apparatus forreproducing pattern data.

The pattern data may include pattern information on at least one of ahaptic pattern applied to an actuator or a light pattern applied to alighting unit.

The controller may analyze the input data and determine pattern timeinterval information indicating a time interval at which a pattern is tobe output and pattern level information indicating an intensity of thepattern based on the analysis result.

The input data reception unit may receive any one of sound data, touchinput data, and user pattern setting data according to the userselection.

When the input data is the sound data, the controller may determine atarget frequency band from among frequency bands constituting the sounddata, filter sound data of the target frequency band using a bandpassfilter, and determine pattern level information of a haptic pattern andpattern time interval information of the haptic pattern from thefiltered sound data based on a threshold.

When the input data is the touch input data, the controller may extractretention time information of the touch input and time intervalinformation of the touch input from the touch input data and generatepattern data of a haptic pattern based on the retention time informationand the time interval information.

When the input data is the user pattern setting data, the controller maydetermine pattern level information and pattern time intervalinformation based on the user pattern setting data and generate thepattern data based on the determined pattern level information andpattern time interval information.

The pattern data may be included in a message and transmitted to theapparatus for reproducing pattern data, and the message may include: afirst element indicating a type of data included in the message; asecond element including message information; and a third elementindicating the size of the message information.

An apparatus for reproducing pattern data according to an embodiment mayinclude: a communication unit configured to receive pattern data from anapparatus for generating pattern data, the pattern data includingpattern information determined based on input data according to a userselection; a controller configured to extract pattern information fromthe received pattern data; and a haptic pattern reproduction unitconfigured to reproduce a haptic pattern based on the extracted patterninformation.

The haptic pattern reproduction unit may reproduce the haptic pattern bydriving an actuator based on pattern level information indicating theintensity of a pattern and time interval information indicating a timeinterval at which the pattern is to be output, wherein the pattern levelinformation and the time interval information are included in thepattern information.

The apparatus for reproducing pattern data according to an embodimentmay further include a light pattern reproduction unit configured toreproduce a light pattern based on the extracted pattern information.

The light pattern reproduction unit may reproduce the light pattern bydriving a lighting unit based on lighting color information of the lightpattern and output time information of the light pattern which areincluded in the pattern information.

A method of generating pattern data according to an embodiment mayinclude the steps of: receiving input data according to a userselection; determining pattern information based on the input data;generating pattern data including the determined pattern information;and transmitting the generated pattern data to an apparatus forreproducing pattern data.

A method of reproducing pattern data according to an embodiment mayinclude the steps of: receiving pattern data from an apparatus forgenerating pattern data, the pattern data including pattern informationdetermined based on input data according to a user selection; extractingpattern information from the received pattern data; and reproducing ahaptic pattern based on the extracted pattern information.

The method of reproducing pattern data according to an embodiment mayfurther include reproducing a light pattern based on the patterninformation on the light pattern when the pattern data includes patterninformation on the light pattern.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a system for providing pattern dataaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method of generating pattern dataaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for describing a process of generating patterndata according to a type of input data according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for describing a process of generating patterndata based on sound data according to an embodiment.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are diagrams for describing an example of generatingpattern data based on sound data according to an embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for describing user pattern setting data accordingto an embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating elements of a message including patterndata according to an embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method of reproducing pattern dataaccording to an embodiment.

MODE FOR INVENTION

Hereinafter, some example embodiments will be described in detail withreference to the accompanying drawings. The following detailedstructural or functional description of example embodiments is providedas an example only and various alterations and modifications may be madeto the example embodiments. Accordingly, the example embodiments are notconstrued as being limited to the disclosure and should be understood toinclude all changes, equivalents, and replacements within the technicalscope of the disclosure.

Terms used herein are used only to explain the example embodiments, notto limit the same. The singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” are intendedto include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearlyindicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms“comprises/comprising” and/or “includes/including” when used herein,specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations,elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence oraddition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations,elements, components and/or groups thereof.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms, including technical and scientificterms, used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains. Terms,such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, are to beinterpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning inthe context of the relevant art, and are not to be interpreted in anidealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.Also, in the description of embodiments, detailed description ofwell-known related structures or functions will be omitted when it isdeemed that such description will cause ambiguous interpretation of thepresent disclosure.

In addition, like reference numerals refer to like constituentcomponents and a repeated description related thereto will be omitted.When it is determined detailed description related to a related knownfunction or configuration they may make the purpose of the examplesunnecessarily ambiguous in describing the examples, the detaileddescription will be omitted here.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a system for providing pattern dataaccording to an embodiment.

A system 100 for providing pattern data is a system for providing ahaptic stimulus (haptic effect) and/or a light stimulus (light effect)to a user based on pattern data. For example, the system 100 forproviding pattern data may generate pattern data that corresponds tobeat pattern of content to be provided to audiences in places, such as aconcert hall, a movie theater, a performance hall, and the like, andtransmit the generated pattern data to the audiences. The audiences maywear a wearable device, and the wearable device may receive the patterndata. The wearable device may provide a haptic stimulus and/or a lightstimulus that matches the content to the audiences by reproducing thepattern data. The audiences may experience a higher level of immersionthrough the haptic stimulus and/or the light stimulus and the effect ofproviding content (performance effect) may be maximized.

In another example, it is assumed that a user listens to music contentusing a driving device on which a music playback application isexecuted. In this case, the system 100 for providing pattern data mayanalyze music content to generate pattern data matching the musiccontent, and provide the user with a haptic stimulus and/or a lightstimulus corresponding to the music content by reproducing the patterndata using an accessory device that can be wired or wirelessly connectedto the above driving device.

In still another example, the user may directly create pattern datathrough the system 100 for providing pattern data. The user may generateunique pattern data by setting a time interval at which a pattern of ahaptic stimulus or a light stimulus occurs and the intensity of thepattern. The user may generate his or her own unique pattern datathrough touch input, for example, tapping or rubbing. The generatedpattern data may be stored and transmitted to a device or other users.

Referring to FIG. 1, the system 100 for providing pattern data accordingto an embodiment includes an apparatus 110 for generating pattern dataand an apparatus 150 for reproducing pattern data. The apparatus 110 forgenerating pattern data is an apparatus for generating pattern data, andmay include, for example, a personal computer, a mobile device, such asa smartphone, and the like. The apparatus 110 for generating patterndata may generate pattern data and transmit the generated pattern data.For example, the apparatus 110 for generating pattern data may analyzecontent (e.g., sound data, such as music) and generate pattern data thatcorresponds to the content, or generate pattern data based on touchinput data or user pattern setting data input by a user. The patterndata thus generated may include pattern information that defines apattern of a haptic stimulus and/or a light stimulus to be provided to auser.

The apparatus 50 for reproducing pattern data is an apparatus forproviding a haptic stimulus and/or a light stimulus to the user based onthe pattern data received from the apparatus 110 for generating patterndata. The apparatus 150 for reproducing pattern data may be referred toas a “haptic apparatus”. In one embodiment, the apparatus 150 forreproducing pattern data may provide a haptic stimulus of a specificpattern to the user by generating a vibration or tapping sensation byreproducing the pattern data. In addition, the apparatus 150 forreproducing pattern data may provide a visual stimulus of a specificpattern to the user by adjusting the lighting color and illuminationintensity of a lighting unit, such as a light emitting diode (LED), byreproducing the pattern data. The apparatus 150 for reproducing patterndata may be in the form of, for example, a wearable device, an accessorydevice of a mobile device, a portable electronic device, or the like,but the form thereof is not limited thereto.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the apparatus 110 for generating pattern dataand the apparatus 150 for reproducing pattern data may be wirelesslyconnected through a network 105 or may be wired connected through acable.

The apparatus 110 for generating pattern data includes an input datareception unit 120, a controller 130, and a communication unit 140. Theinput data reception unit 120 receives input data according to a userselection. The input data reception unit 120 may receive any one ofsound data, touch input data, and user pattern setting data according toa user selection. In the case of touch input data, it may be obtained bysensing touch input, such as tapping or rubbing, performed by the useron a touch screen display or the like. The user pattern setting data maybe obtained by the user directly setting a pattern level or a patterntime interval through an interface, such as an equalizer. The user mayselect which of the sound data, the touch input data, or the userpattern setting data is to be used to generate the pattern data.

The controller 130 may control the operation of the apparatus 110 forgenerating pattern data and include one or more processors. Thecontroller 130 may determine pattern information based on the input datareceived through the input data reception unit 120 and generate patterndata including the determined pattern information. The controller 130may analyze the input data and determine pattern time intervalinformation indicating a time interval at which a pattern is to beoutput and pattern level information indicating a pattern intensity onthe basis of the analysis result. The pattern data may include patterninformation on at least one of a haptic pattern applied to an actuatoror a light pattern applied to the lighting unit. In one embodiment, thecontroller 130 may determine pattern level information of a hapticpattern, pattern time interval information of the haptic pattern,lighting color information of a light pattern, and output timeinformation of the light pattern based on the input data, and maycontrol the determined information to be stored.

In one embodiment, it is assumed that the input data is sound data. Inthis case, the controller 130 may automatically extract patterninformation from the sound data. The controller 130 may determine atarget frequency band from among frequency bands constituting the inputsound data, and extract sound data of the audible sound region byfiltering sound data of the target frequency band using a bandpassfilter. The controller 130 may determine pattern level information andpattern time interval information of the haptic pattern from thefiltered sound data based on a threshold.

For example, when the input data reception unit 120 receives sound dataof a wave file or an MP3 file as input data, the controller 130 mayanalyze the sound data in a frequency domain by performing fast Fouriertransform (FFT) on an intro part (e.g., a portion of about 1 minute),which is reproduced in the first half of the sound data, at apredetermined time period (e.g., 200 ms) and determine the mostrepetitive frequency band (the frequency band with the largest FFTvalue) as the target frequency band. In this way, the controller 130 maydetermine the target frequency band in which pattern data is to beformed in the initial first half of sound data, such as music.Thereafter, the controller 130 performs bandpass filtering and inversefast Fourier transform (IFFT) to output the filtered sound data in atime domain. The controller 130 may determine pattern level informationand pattern time interval information by comparing a signal value of thesound data undergone IFFT and converted into the time domain with apredetermined threshold (which may be set by the user). For example, ifthe signal value of the IFFT-processed sound data is greater than orequal to the threshold, the controller 130 may determine the patternlevel based on a difference between the signal value and the threshold.If the signal value is less than the threshold, the controller 130 maytreat the pattern level as 0. The pattern level may be determined as adigital value between, for example, 0 and 10. The controller 130 maydetect times when the signal value is greater than or equal to thethreshold, and determine pattern time interval information based on theinterval between the detected times.

In addition, the controller 130 may determine the lighting colorinformation of the light pattern based on the target frequency band, anddetermine output time information of the light pattern indicating thetiming at which the light pattern is output based on the pattern timeinterval information. For example, the color of the light pattern may bedifferently determined according to a value of the target frequencyband, and the time at which the light pattern is to be output may bedetermined based on the pattern time interval derived by analyzing thesound data.

In another embodiment, it is assumed that the input data is touch inputdata. The user may simply generate pattern data through touch input, andthe generated touch input data may include time interval informationindicating a time interval at which the touch is input, retention timeinformation indicating a time period for which the touch is maintained,and intensity information of the touch input. The controller 130 mayautomatically extract pattern information from the touch input data. Thecontroller 130 may extract the retention time information of the touchinput and the time interval information of the touch input from thetouch input data, and generate pattern data of a haptic pattern based onthe extracted retention time information and time interval information.The controller 130 may set a reproduction start time of the hapticpattern based on the corresponding retention time information, and set areproduction stop time of the haptic pattern based on the correspondingtime interval information.

In addition, the controller 130 may determine output time information ofthe light pattern based on the retention time information and timeinterval information extracted through the analysis of the touch inputdata. In addition, the controller 130 may determine lighting colorinformation of the light pattern based on the intensity of the touchinput. For example, the controller 130 may determine the lighting colorinformation in such a manner that the proportion of blue is increasedwhen the intensity of the touch input is weak and the proportion of redis increased when the intensity of the touch input is strong.

In still another embodiment, it is assumed that the input data is userpattern setting data. The controller 130 may determine pattern levelinformation and pattern time interval information based on the userpattern setting data, and generate pattern data based on the determinedpattern level information and pattern time interval information. Forexample, the user may input setting information for generating patterndata using a pattern input program in the form of an equalizer or thelike, and the input setting information may be input to the input datareception unit 120 as user pattern setting data. The controller 130 mayconverts the user pattern setting data into a pattern level of a digitalvalue and determine a time interval of a pattern. For example, when theuser sets a pattern level value for each frequency band, the controller130 may generate the pattern data so that a haptic pattern of thepattern level value set for each frequency band is generated for eachtime period corresponding to the frequency band.

In addition, the controller 130 may determine lighting color informationand output time information of the light pattern based on the patternlevel information and pattern time interval information determinedthrough the analysis of the user pattern setting information. Forexample, the controller 130 may determine a lighting color based on themagnitude of the determined pattern level, and determine a time at whichthe light pattern is to be output based on the pattern time intervalinformation.

The communication unit 140 may transmit the generated pattern data tothe apparatus 150 for reproducing pattern data. In this case, thepattern data may be included in a message and transmitted to theapparatus 150 for reproducing pattern data. The communication unit 140may transmit the pattern data to the apparatus 150 for reproducingpattern data through the network 105, such as Bluetooth, Bluetooth lowenergy (BLE), Wi-Fi, long term evolution (LTE), or the like. In oneembodiment, the user may select the type of the network 106 throughwhich the pattern data is to be transmitted, and in this case, thecommunication unit 140 may transmit the pattern data through the network105 selected by the user.

According to the embodiment, upon completion of the transmission of thepattern data, the apparatus 110 for generating pattern data may notifythe user of the completion of transmission of the pattern data. Inaddition, the apparatus 110 for generating pattern data may store thetransmitted pattern data and generate and manage history information.The stored pattern data may later be transmitted to another device or toanother user.

The apparatus 150 for reproducing pattern data receives the pattern datafrom the apparatus 110 for generating pattern data and reproducing thereceived pattern data. The apparatus 150 for reproducing pattern dataincludes a communication unit 160, a controller 170, and a hapticpattern reproduction unit 180. According to an embodiment, the apparatus150 for reproducing pattern data may further include a light patternreproduction unit 190.

The communication unit 160 receives the pattern data from the apparatus110 for generating pattern data. The pattern data may include thepattern information determined based on the input data according to theuser selection. According to the embodiment, when the reception of thepattern data is completed, the received pattern data may be stored in astorage unit (not shown), or the user of the apparatus 150 forreproducing pattern data may be notified of the completion of receptionof the pattern data.

The controller 130 may control the operation of the apparatus 150 forreproducing pattern data and include one or more processors. Thecontroller 170 may extract pattern information from the pattern data byanalyzing the received pattern data. For example, the controller 170 mayextract the pattern level information of the haptic pattern, the patterntime interval information of the haptic pattern, the lighting colorinformation of the light pattern, the output time information of thelight pattern, and the like from the pattern data.

The haptic pattern reproduction unit 180 reproduces the haptic patternbased on the extracted pattern information. The haptic patternreproduction unit 180 may reproduce the haptic pattern by driving anactuator (a tactile actuator or the like) based on the pattern levelinformation indicating the intensity of the pattern and the timeinterval information indicating a time interval at which the pattern isto be output, wherein the pattern level information and the timeinterval information are included in the pattern information. Theactuator may generate a haptic stimulus according to the haptic patternbased on a control signal transmitted from the haptic patternreproduction unit 180. According to an embodiment, the actuator may beincluded in the haptic pattern reproduction unit 180.

The light pattern reproduction unit 190 reproduces the light patternbased on the extracted pattern information. The light patternreproduction unit 190 may reproduce the light pattern by driving alighting unit based on the lighting color information of the lightpattern and the output time information of the light pattern, which areincluded in the pattern information. For example, the lighting unit,such as an LED, may be mounted in a wearable device, and the lightingunit may generate a light stimulus according to the light pattern basedon a control signal transmitted from the light pattern reproduction unit190. According to an embodiment, the lighting unit may be included inthe light pattern reproduction unit 190.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method of generating pattern dataaccording to an embodiment. The method of generating pattern data may beperformed by the apparatus for generating pattern data described in thepresent description.

Referring to FIG. 2, in step 210, an apparatus for generating patterndata may receive input data according to a user selection. The apparatusfor generating pattern data may receive any one of sound data, such asmusic, touch input data, and user pattern setting data according to auser selection.

The apparatus for generating pattern data determines pattern informationbased on the input data in step 220, and generates pattern data thatincludes the determined pattern information in step 230. The apparatusfor generating pattern data may determine pattern time intervalinformation indicating a time interval at which a pattern is to beoutput and pattern level information indicating the intensity of thepattern based on an analysis result of the input data. The pattern datamay include pattern information on at least one of a haptic patternapplied to an actuator or a light pattern applied to a lighting unit.

Examples of information included in the pattern data are as shown inTable 1 below. According to an embodiment, the pattern data may includeboth information on the haptic pattern and information on the lightpattern, or may include only any one of the information. Due to thestructure of the pattern data, the occurrence time of the haptic patternand the light pattern may be synchronized, or there may be a differencein the occurrence time between the haptic pattern and the light pattern.

TABLE 1 Item Description Pattern level information range: 1 to 10,indicating intensity of pattern Pattern time interval information unit:ms, range: 1 to 1000 ms Lighting color information R(red) value,G(green) value, B(blue) value Output time information of light unit: ms,range: 1 to 1000 ms pattern

In step 240, the apparatus 240 for generating pattern data may transmitthe generated pattern data to an apparatus for reproducing pattern data.The apparatus for generating pattern data may transmit the pattern datato the apparatus for reproducing pattern data through a wired network,such as a cable, or a wireless network, such as Bluetooth, BLE, Wi-Fi,LTE, or the like.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for describing a process of generating patterndata according to a type of input data according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 3, in step 310, the apparatus for generating patterndata may receive input data to be used to generate pattern data, andcheck the type of the input data.

When it is checked that the input data is identified as sound data, theapparatus for generating pattern data may perform steps 322, 324, and326. In step 322, the apparatus for generating pattern data may receivean input frequency band. The input frequency band is a frequency band tobe used to form a haptic pattern in an initial part, such as an intropart of music content.

In step 324, the apparatus for generating pattern data may perform FFTprocessing, filtering processing, and IFFT processing on the sound databased on the input frequency band. The apparatus for generating patterndata may perform FFT processing on the sound data and perform filteringon the result of performing FFT processing based on the input frequencyband. For example, the apparatus for generating pattern data mayperforming filtering on the input frequency band using a bandpass filterand may perform IFFT processing on the filtered sound data in the inputfrequency band. The apparatus for generating pattern data may determinepattern level information and pattern time interval information for thehaptic pattern based on a threshold from the result of performing theIFFT processing.

Thereafter, in step 340, the apparatus for generating pattern data maydetermine lighting color information of a light pattern based on theinput frequency band and determine output time information of the lightpattern based on the pattern time interval information determined instep 326. In step 350, the apparatus for generating pattern data maystore the pattern level information, the pattern time intervalinformation, the lighting color information, and the output timeinformation.

In step 310, when it is checked in step 310 that the type of thereceived input data is identified as touch input data, the apparatus forgenerating pattern data may perform steps 332 and 334. In step 332, theapparatus for generating pattern data may extract retention timeinformation of touch input which indicates a time period for which touchis maintained from the touch input data. The apparatus for generatingpattern data may set a reproduction start time of the haptic patternbased on the extracted retention time information. In step 334, theapparatus for generating pattern data may extract, from the touch inputdata, time interval information indicating a time interval at which thetouch is input. The apparatus for generating pattern data may set areproduction stop time of the haptic pattern based on the extracted timeinterval information.

Thereafter, in step 340, the apparatus for generating pattern data maydetermine lighting color information of a light pattern based on theintensity of the touch input and determine output time information ofthe light pattern based on the retention time information and the timeinterval information that are extracted in steps 332 and 334,respectively. In step 350, the apparatus for generating pattern data maystore the pattern level information, the pattern time intervalinformation, the lighting color information, and the output timeinformation.

When it is checked in step 310 that the type of the received input datais identified as user pattern setting data, the apparatus for generatingpattern data may perform steps 342, 344, and 346. In step 342, theapparatus for generating pattern data may extract pattern level settinginformation and output time setting information from the user patternsetting data. The user may input the pattern level setting information,the output time setting information, and setting information using apattern input program for generating pattern data. Here, the patternlevel setting information may include information on a pattern leveldirectly set by the user, and the output time setting information mayinclude information on an output time period set for each frequency bandor an output time period directly set by the user. According to anembodiment, the apparatus for generating pattern data may performingfiltering processing on the input data. In step 344, the apparatus forgenerating pattern data may determine pattern level information andpattern time interval information for the haptic pattern based on thepattern level setting information and the output time settinginformation.

Thereafter, in step 340, the apparatus for generating pattern data maydetermine lighting color information of a light pattern based on thepattern level information and determine output time information of thelight pattern based on the pattern time interval information determinedin step 344. In step 350, the apparatus for generating pattern data maystore the pattern level information, the pattern time intervalinformation, the lighting color information, and the output timeinformation.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for describing a process of generating patterndata based on sound data according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 4, in step 410, the apparatus for generating patterndata receives sound data. According to an embodiment, the apparatus forgenerating pattern data may perform preprocessing, such as noise removalfor removing a bouncing signal value, on the received sound data. Also,the apparatus for generating pattern data may extract a portion to beused to determine a target frequency band from the sound data. Forexample, the apparatus for generating pattern data may extract aninitial intro part from the sound data, and perform the following steps420 to 470 on the extracted portion of the sound data.

In step 420, the apparatus for generating pattern data may convert thesound data from a time domain into a frequency domain by performing FFTprocessing on the sound data at a predetermined period. In step 430, theapparatus for generating pattern data may select a target frequency bandfrom the sound data in the frequency domain and store information on theselected target frequency band. For example, the apparatus forgenerating pattern data may select a frequently repeated frequency bandas the target frequency band. The apparatus for generating pattern datamay divide the sound data for each frequency band, and select afrequency band including a frequency having the largest FFT-processedvalue as the target frequency band. The stored information on the targetfrequency band may later be used to determine pattern information of thelight pattern.

In step 440, the apparatus for generating pattern data may performfiltering processing based on the target frequency band. For example,the apparatus for generating pattern data may extract an audible soundregion (e.g., ranging from 10 Hz to 500 Hz) by performing filteringprocessing using a bandpass filter based on the target frequency band.In step 450, the apparatus for generating pattern data may convert thefiltered sound data into time domain data by performing IFFT processingon the filtered sound data. The sound data may be converted from thefrequency domain to the time domain through IFFT processing.

In step 460, the apparatus for generating pattern data may performthreshold processing. A threshold used in this process may be determinedby the user. The apparatus for generating pattern data may extractsignal values greater than or equal to a threshold from the sound dataconverted into the time domain through the IFFT processing.

In step 470, the apparatus for generating pattern data may determine apattern level and a pattern time interval based on differences betweenthe threshold and signal values extracted in step 460. For example, theapparatus for generating pattern data may allocate a large pattern levelwhen a difference between the signal value and the threshold is large,and may allocate a small pattern level when the difference is small. Theapparatus for generating pattern data may set a level to 0 for signalvalues smaller than the threshold in the sound data. According to anembodiment, the user may specify a reference time interval, and in thiscase, the apparatus for generating pattern data may determine thepattern time interval based on the reference time interval.

The apparatus for generating pattern data may determine the lightingcolor of the light pattern based on the target frequency band selectedin step 430, and may determine the output time of the light patternbased on the pattern time interval determined in step 470.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are diagrams for describing an example of generatingpattern data based on sound data according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 5, it is assumed that sound data 510 is input togenerate pattern data. In the sound data 510, the x-axis represents“time,” and the y-axis represents a “signal magnitude” or “signal value”of the sound data 510. FFT processing is performed on the sound data510, and sound data 520 in a frequency domain is obtained by the FFTprocessing. In the sound data 520 in the frequency domain, the x-axisrepresents a “frequency band,” and the y-axis represents a “FFT value”.In this embodiment, it is assumed that the frequency band having thelargest FFT value in the sound data 520 in the frequency domain is“484.00 Hz”. This means that a frequency band of 484.00 Hz is repeatedthe most. The frequency band of 484.00 Hz is selected as a targetfrequency band, and a bandpass filtering processing is performed basedon the target frequency band to obtain filtered sound data 530.Thereafter, IFFT processing is performed on the filtered sound data 530to obtain sound data 540 converted into a time domain. In the sound data540 converted into the time domain, the x-axis represents “time,” andthe y-axis represents a “signal magnitude” or “signal value” of thesound data 540.

Thereafter, threshold processing as shown in FIG. 6 may be performed onthe sound data converted into the time domain. Referring to FIG. 6, apattern level for a haptic pattern may be determined based on adifference between a signal level of sound data 610 and a threshold. Forexample, if the difference between the signal magnitude and thethreshold is large, a large pattern level may be allocated, and if thedifference is small, a small pattern level may be allocated. Here, thethreshold can be specified by the user. The user may also specify areference time interval, and a time interval of the pattern may bedetermined in proportion to the specified reference time interval.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for describing user pattern setting data accordingto an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 7, a user may input setting information for generatingpattern data using a pattern input program in the form of an equalizeras shown, and the input setting information may be user pattern settingdata and transmitted to an apparatus for generating pattern data. Theuser may create his or her own pattern data through the pattern inputprogram. The pattern input program may be driven by, for example, apersonal computer or a smartphone.

In the illustrated pattern input program, “1 to 10” may correspond todifferent frequency bands or times. Each frequency band has acorresponding time period, and pattern time interval information of ahaptic pattern may be determined based on the corresponding time period.In another embodiment, the pattern time interval information of thehaptic pattern may be determined based on time information specified bythe user. The user may set a level value (e.g., level A to level D) foreach frequency band, and the pattern level information of the hapticpattern may be determined based on the level value set for eachfrequency band. In addition, lighting color information of a lightpattern may be determined based on the level value set for eachfrequency band, and output time information of the light pattern may bedetermined based on the time period corresponding to each frequencyband.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating elements of a message including patterndata according to an embodiment.

In an embodiment, pattern data may be included in a message according toa message format as shown in FIG. 8 and transmitted to an apparatus forreproducing pattern data. An example in which pattern data isconstructed using the basic encoding rules (BER) (tag-length-value (TLV)notation), which are encoding rules of Abstract Syntax Notation NumberOne (ASN.1), is shown.

A message includes a tag field, which is a first element indicating thetype of data included in the message, a value field, which is a secondelement including message information, and a length field, which is athird element indicating the size of the message information. Here, thesecond element may include one or more of haptic pattern information andlight pattern information. The tag field indicates the type of message.In an embodiment, if 0x43 (ASCII code “C,” which is a randomlydetermined value) is included in the tag field, it may be recognizedthat haptic pattern information and light pattern information areincluded in the message. The length field may indicate the size of themessage value in bytes. When the size of the message value exceeds 255(0xFF) bytes, a value of 0x81 may be added to the front according to theBER method. For example, in the case of 260 bytes, the “length” may beset as “0x81 0x01 0x04”.

The value field contains the information of the message. In some cases,the value field may include all information of the tag, length, andvalue. When the value field includes all information of the tag, length,and value, the second element, which is the value field, includes taginformation for distinguishing data included in the message from amonghaptic pattern data, light pattern data, sound data, and emoticon data.Examples of the tag information are as shown in Table 2 below.

TABLE 2 Tag value included in value field Data contained in message 0x01haptic pattern data 0x02 light pattern data 0x03 haptic pattern data andlight pattern data 0x04 sound data 0x05 haptic pattern data and sounddata 0x06 light pattern data and sound data 0x07 haptic pattern data,light pattern data, and sound data 0x08 emoticon data 0x09 hapticpattern data and emoticon data . . . . . . 0x0F haptic pattern data,light pattern data, sound data, and emoticon data 0x10 to 0xFF Reserved

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method of reproducing pattern dataaccording to an embodiment. The method of reproducing pattern data maybe performed by the apparatus for reproducing pattern data described inthe present description.

Referring to FIG. 9, in step 910, an apparatus for reproducing patterndata receives pattern data from an apparatus for generating patterndata. The pattern data may include pattern information determined basedon input data according to a user selection. The pattern information mayinclude one or more of haptic pattern information for a haptic patternand light pattern information for a light pattern.

In step 920, the apparatus for reproducing pattern data analyzes thereceived pattern data and extract the pattern information from thepattern data. The apparatus for reproducing pattern data may extractpattern level information of the haptic pattern, pattern time intervalinformation of the haptic pattern, lighting color information of thelight pattern, output time information of the pattern, and the like fromthe pattern data.

When the pattern data includes pattern information on the hapticpattern, the apparatus for reproducing pattern data reproduces thehaptic pattern based on the corresponding pattern information in step930. In step 932, the apparatus for reproducing pattern data extract thepattern level information and pattern time interval information of thehaptic pattern from the pattern information. In step 934, the apparatusfor reproducing pattern data may convert a pattern level into a voltagesignal to be applied to an actuator, on the basis of the pattern levelinformation. In step 936, the apparatus for reproducing pattern data mayset a pattern time interval indicated in the pattern time intervalinformation as delay information to be applied to the generation of thehaptic pattern. Accordingly, a time point at which the haptic pattern isto be generated may be determined. In step 938, the apparatus forreproducing pattern data may drive the actuator to generate a hapticstimulus corresponding to the pattern level at each point in time whenthe haptic pattern is generated.

When the pattern data includes pattern information on the light pattern,the apparatus for reproducing pattern data reproduces light patternbased on the corresponding pattern information in step 940. In step 942,the apparatus for reproducing pattern data extracts lighting colorinformation and output time information of the light pattern from thepattern information. In step 944, the apparatus for reproducing patterndata may set an output time point of the light pattern based on theextracted output time information. In step 946, the apparatus forreproducing pattern data may drive a lighting unit, such as an LED,based on information on the set output time point and the lighting colorinformation.

In one embodiment, when the pattern data includes both patterninformation on the haptic pattern and pattern information on the lightpattern, the apparatus for reproducing pattern data may simultaneouslyperform step 930 of reproducing the haptic pattern and step 940 ofreproducing the light pattern.

The method according to an embodiment may be implemented as programinstructions that can be performed through various computer means (e.g.,a processor) and may be recorded on computer readable recording medium.The computer readable recording medium may include singular orcombination of program instructions, data files, data structures, and soon. Program instructions recorded on the medium may be designed andconfigured especially for the embodiments of the present disclosure ormay be already known and available to a person skilled in the computersoftware field. Examples of the computer readable recording medium mayinclude magnetic media such as hard disk, floppy disk, and magnetictape, optical media such as CD-ROM and DVD, magneto-optical media suchas floptical disk, and hardware devices such as ROM, RAM, flash memoryor the like which are especially configured to store and perform theprogram instructions. Examples of program instructions include bothmachine code, such as produced by a compiler, and files containinghigher level code that may be executed by the computer using aninterpreter. The above-described devices may be configured to act as oneor more software modules in order to perform the operations of theabove-described embodiments, or vice versa.

The software may include a computer program, a piece of code, aninstruction, or some combination thereof, to independently orcollectively instruct or configure the processing device to operate asdesired. Software and data may be embodied permanently or temporarily inany type of machine, component, physical or virtual equipment, computerstorage medium or device, or in a propagated signal wave capable ofproviding instructions or data to or being interpreted by the processingdevice. The software also may be distributed over network coupledcomputer systems so that the software is stored and executed in adistributed fashion. The software and data may be stored by one or morenon-transitory computer readable recording mediums.

A number of embodiments have been described above. Nevertheless, itshould be understood that various modifications may be made to theseembodiments by those having ordinary skill in the art. For example,suitable results may be achieved if the described techniques areperformed in a different order and/or if components in a describedsystem, architecture, device, or circuit are combined in a differentmanner and/or replaced or supplemented by other components or theirequivalents.

Therefore, other implementations, other embodiments, and claims andtheir equivalents fall within the scope of the following claims.

1. An apparatus for generating pattern data, the apparatus comprising:an input data reception unit configured to receive input data; acontroller configured to determine pattern information based on theinput data and generate pattern data including the determined patterninformation; and an output unit configured to transmit the generatedpattern data to an apparatus for reproducing pattern data, wherein thecontroller is configured to analyze the input data and determine patterntime interval information indicating a time interval at which a patternis to be output and pattern level information indicating an intensity ofthe pattern based on the analysis result, and wherein when the inputdata is sound data, the controller is configured to determine a targetfrequency from among frequencies constituting the sound data, filtersound data of the target frequency, and determine the pattern levelinformation and the pattern time interval information from the filteredsound data based on a threshold.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe pattern data comprises pattern information on at least one of ahaptic pattern applied to an actuator of the apparatus for reproducingpattern data or a light pattern applied to a lighting unit of theapparatus for reproducing pattern data. 3-5. (canceled)
 6. The apparatusof claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to determine lightingcolor information of a light pattern based on the target frequency anddetermine output time information of the light pattern based on thepattern time interval information.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, whereinwhen the input data is touch input data, the controller is configured toextract retention time information of the touch input and time intervalinformation of the touch input from the touch input data and generatepattern data based on the retention time information and the timeinterval information.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein thecontroller is configured to set a reproduction start time of a hapticpattern based on the retention time information and set a reproductionstop time of a haptic pattern based on the time interval information. 9.The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the controller is configured todetermine output time information of a light pattern based on theretention time information and the time interval information.
 10. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein when the input data is touch input data,the controller is configured to determine lighting color information ofa light pattern based on an intensity of a touch input.
 11. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein when the input data is user patternsetting data, the controller is configured to determine pattern levelinformation and pattern time interval information based on the userpattern setting data and generate the pattern data based on thedetermined pattern level information and pattern time intervalinformation.
 12. An apparatus for generating pattern data, the apparatuscomprising: an input data reception unit configured to receive inputdata; a controller configured to determine pattern information based onthe input data and generate pattern data including the determinedpattern information; and an output unit configured to transmit thegenerated pattern data to an apparatus for reproducing pattern data,wherein the pattern data is included in a message and output to theapparatus for reproducing pattern data, wherein the message comprises: afirst element indicating a type of data included in the message; asecond element including message information; and a third elementindicating a size of the message information, and wherein the secondelement includes tag information for distinguishing data included in themessage.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the second elementincludes at least one of haptic pattern information and light patterninformation. 14-18. (canceled)
 19. A method of generating pattern datawhich is performed by an apparatus for generating pattern data, themethod comprising the steps of: receiving input data; determiningpattern information based on the input data; generating pattern dataincluding the determined pattern information; and transmitting thegenerated pattern data to an apparatus for reproducing pattern data,wherein the pattern data is included in a message and output to theapparatus for reproducing pattern data, wherein the message comprises: afirst element indicating a type of data included in the message; asecond element including message information; and a third elementindicating a size of the message information, and wherein the secondelement includes tag information for distinguishing data included in themessage.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the determining of thepattern information comprises determining pattern time intervalinformation indicating a time interval at which a pattern is to beoutput and pattern level information indicating an intensity of thepattern based on a result of analysis of the input data. 21-22.(canceled)
 23. A non-transitory computer-readable media having recordedthereon a program for enabling a computer with a hardware processor toimplement the method of claim 19.